Ambika Kandasamy

My latest piece:

Very informative guide by my colleague Jala Everett.

Sedimentary block containing fossil leaves from the Clarkia Lake. The central leaf is reddish-brown, boat-shaped, and almost intact, surrounded by fragments of darker, almost black leaves. Photo: Dr. Yige Zhang.

A laurel leaf, newly excavated in the field, exhibiting its original autumnal red hue. Photo: Margret Steinthorsdottir and Helen K Coxall.

In Idaho's Clarkia fossil beds, ~15-million-yr-old leaves are sandwiched between rock. When exposed, the leaves momentarily retain their original colors—red, copper, sometimes even a chlorophyllic hue—before oxidizing and fading.

A sedimentary scrapbook. Reverse polaroids from Earth's deep past.

Born Poor | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series Watch FRONTLINE's documentary, filmed over the course of 14 years, which shows the realities of growing up poor in America.

The @frontlinepbs.bsky.social documentary "Born Poor" chronicles the lives of three Americans from childhood to the present day and offers a longitudinal look at the realities of growing up in poverty. Watch it here:

What Are Some Challenges of Growing Up Poor in America? | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series The U.S. has one of the highest child poverty rates among wealthy countries. Here’s a look at struggles kids living in poverty face, including access to food, healthcare and education.

The U.S. has one of the highest child poverty rates among wealthy countries. Here's a look at struggles kids living in poverty face, including access to food, healthcare and education.

What Are Some Challenges of Growing Up Poor in America? | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series The U.S. has one of the highest child poverty rates among wealthy countries. Here’s a look at struggles kids living in poverty face, including access to food, healthcare and education.

I looked into research about the short and long-term struggles that children living in poverty face, including access to food, healthcare and education.

Thank you to Dr. @ritahamad.bsky.social and Dr. Joseph Llobrera for speaking with me for this story.

Latest story for National Wildlife magazine. Thank you to the wonderful @jjww.bsky.social for the edits and to Ibrahim Rayintakath for the art.

www.nwf.org/Home/Magazin...

5 Years Later, A Look Back at How the COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted the World | FRONTLINE FRONTLINE and our partners have been covering the pandemic and its fallout in the U.S. and around the world since COVID-19 broke out. Revisit our reporting.

Today marks five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

@frontlinepbs.bsky.social has been covering the crisis since the beginning. I compiled a list of the documentaries — read more and watch them here:

James Harrison, whose blood donations saved over 2 million babies, has died Harrison, whose plasma contained a rare antibody, rolled up his sleeve 1,173 times from 1954 to 2018. The Australian is credited with helping 2.4 million babies and advancing scientific research.

"I hope it's a record that somebody breaks, because it will mean they are dedicated to the cause." - James Harrison

‘The Interview’: Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.

On the cutting room floor is the bit where the host introduced their interview series, The Interview, and I asked how long it took to come up with the name. Anyway, here’s me talking about birds and science and burnout and moving through the world. The photo’s nice! www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

It's such a great resource — many thanks for putting it together!

Using Open Data to Sharpen Science Stories - The Open Notebook Open research data are becoming increasingly available online, providing exciting opportunities for telling compelling, data-driven science stories. These freely available data sources can help journa...

Excellent piece on using open data in science reporting by
@fleerackers.bsky.social

IRE Radio: Dec. 2024 This edition of IRE Radio highlights the AccessFest24 panel, “Supporting Journalists with Disabilities and Improving Disability Coverage.”

Thank you to @ire-nicar.bsky.social and all panelists for this important conversation.

Fleeing the LA fires alone on a wheelchair: ‘I had to take my chances’ An evacuation order when the Eaton fire threatened Galen Buckwalter’s Sierra Madre home triggered a nightmare odyssey through chaotic streets

Galen Buckwalter, 68, shared with me his harrowing tale of being forced to flee the Eaton fire alone on his wheelchair through dark streets and fierce winds, dodging debris as fire neared his home.

“In emergencies, disabled people are the last to get services…We have no system. You’re on your own”

Where Are They Now? Updates on People in ‘Maui’s Deadly Firestorm’ Many residents are trying to rebuild their homes that burned down, while others have moved to different parts of Maui or Hawai‘i.

My colleague Kristina Abovyan looked at what has happened in the lives of Lahaina residents affected by the 2023 wildfire since the documentary was filmed.

How Filmmakers Documented the Response and Aftermath of ‘Maui’s Deadly Firestorm’ The filmmakers spoke about how they pieced together the chaotic response to the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, how they gained the community’s trust and what the recovery has been like for residents who lost ...

I interviewed Xinyan Yu and Christina Avalos, the filmmakers behind the @frontlinepbs.bsky.social documentary "Maui's Deadly Firestorm" about the recovery process for survivors of the August 2023 wildfire, the steps being taken to prevent the next tragedy and more.

Congratulations on this wonderful milestone, Liz! 😊

A photo of groundcherries (Alkekengi) in a garden in winter. The round, orange, cherry tomato-like fruits are suspended in the center of pendulous, vaguely heart-shaped husks made of networks of dried beige veins. The husks have a delicate, skeletal, lattice-like structure, reminiscent of laser-cut papercraft.

In winter through early spring, you can sometimes find unspoiled, still-bright groundcherries sitting in the latticed remnants of their husks, like hearts suspended in paper ribcages

These people used Narcan to save lives. Here’s how they did it. Learn how to respond to an overdose with Narcan and save a life.

Powerful reporting by Elana Gordon (KSJ '19). Gordon spent her fellowship year researching addiction and the US overdose crisis.

wapo.st/49RO9N9

The Bay Area is an important region for birds. Here's why and where to find them About a billion birds migrate through California as they head south for the winter. For many, the Bay Area is a perfect rest stop and here's why.

As an aspiring birder, I loved this piece and the beautiful graphics.

Science writers as narrative architects: conference panel explores the craft of story construction SciWri24 travel grantee Ambika Kandasamy reports on the "Building Your Story’s Structure" NASW workshop session in Raleigh organized by Maya L. Kapoor.

Did you miss our #SciWri24 national meeting this year? Read a recap of the "Building Your Story’s Structure" workshop in Raleigh filed by NASW conference travel fellow Ambika Kandasamy (@ambikakandasamy.bsky.social): www.nasw.org/article... 💚🧪📝